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1850-1960

Profile Description

This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit
2013-01-18T15:03-0500

Repository:

New York State Historical Association - Research Library

Title:

Corbett & Stuart Records

Dates:

1850-1960

Quantity:

79.0 cubic feet + 144 volumes + 9 oversize folders (OVS+)

Funding Source:

This finding aid was made available electronically through a Regional Bibliographic Data Bases (RBDB) grant from the South Central Regional Library Council, Ithaca, N.Y.

Identification:

Coll. No. 19

Language:

English

Scope and Content Note

The Corbett & Stuart business records contain correspondence between the two business partners, M.J. Corbett and J.L. Stuart, and with the company managers, in particular, M.C. Stuart (Corbett, N.Y.), George C. Craver (Wells, Michigan), and Miss Wheeler (Binghamton office). The collection includes correspondence with, and receipts from, Corbett & Stuart factory foremen. It also includes correspondence regarding Corbett & Stuart's investments in other businesses, such as the Binghamton Felting Co., Central Colorado Power Co., Clawson Chemical, Harwood Charcoal Association, and the First National Bank of Binghamton.

Along with business records, the collection contains personal papers (ca. 1824-1960) of Corbett and Stuart family members, including Charlotte [Stuart] Bowen, John Leonard Stuart, John Leonard Stuart, Jr., Merritt Corbett Stuart, and Julius Smith Corbett, along with estate papers.

The original order of the business records has been maintained as far as possible. Material from 1900-1909 was carefully scrutinized and ordered. Material after 1909 was simply transferred from original files to acid free folders. Brackets around folder descriptions indicate contents are not a part of original arrangement. A strict chronological order was imposed on these scattered papers. In some instances, material was interfiled with later business records. This material can be identified by typed labels.

Series Descriptions

Primarily letters and receipts, arranged chronologically by year. Orders, freight bills, and other records are interfiled by year.

Series 2. Receipts. Boxes 4-18. 1900-36.

Chronologically arranged - irregular time frames used (e.g., Oct. 1915 - June 1916, June - Nov. 1916, Dec. 1916 - July 1917). Certain years are further subdivided alphabetically. Additional receipts are scattered throughout the collection.

Series 3. Letters. Boxes 19-40. 1906-1947.

Letters are primarily incoming, although there is some correspondence between Corbett and Stuart in Boxes 24 and 27. Chronologically arranged - irregular time frames used. In some instances, files are further subdivided alphabetically. Letters from John A. Roebling's Son Company are in Box 37; drawings are in oversize folder 19.006. Miscellaneous correspondence, 1915-36, is in Box 40. Personal correspondence is in Boxes 63-66.

Series 4. M.J. Corbett & Company. Boxes 41-43. 1905-1909.

Primarily folders containing letters and receipts, arranged chronologically - irregular time frames used. In some instances, files are further subdivided alphabetically. See also St. Mary's (in Box 50) and Account Books.

Arranged chronologically by year. 1893 and 1894 freight bills are in Box 65.

Series 13. Reports. Boxes 57-58. 1906-1922, 1940-1946.

Includes government reports, expense reports, monthly reports, annual reports, annual statements, logging prices and statistics, and wood/lumber payroll reports. Arranged by type of report and then chronologically by year. See also Account Books for monthly reports and account summaries.

Series 14. Employee records. Boxes 58-60. 1898-1899, 1920-1925.

Includes payroll records - primarily of Harvard and Trout Brook Works - workman's compensation records, time/pay records, and teamster daily sheets. Arranged by record type and then chronologically by year. Wood/Lumber payroll reports are in Box 58. See also Account Books.

Contains land and timber contracts, mortgages, and bonds, arranged chronologically by year. Insurance policies are arranged alphabetically by name of company. The War Industrial Board material contains damage claims against the U.S. government.

Series 16. Tax records. Box 62. 1920s - 1950s.

Records arranged alphabetically by name of town. Includes Towns of Andes, Colchester, Hancock, Hardenburgh, Middletown, Tompkins, Walton, and miscellaneous. Assessment records for the Towns of Conklin, 1874-76, and Broome, 1875, are in Box 65. See also Account Books (19.v135).

Series 17. Stuart papers. Boxes 63-64. 1877-1950.

Includes the papers of Charlotte (Stuart) Bowen, J.L. Stuart, J.L. Stuart, Jr., and M.C. Stuart. Arranged alphabetically by name of family member and then chronologically by year. Additional Stuart family papers are in Box 66. Checkbooks/bankbooks are in Boxes 74-76. See also Account Books.

Includes J.L. Stuart estate, Stuart estate, Sewell Corbett estate, and Corbett Trust Fund. Arranged by estate and then chronologically by year. Bankbooks/account books for estates are in Box 76. See also Account Books (19.v41 and 19.v77).

Series 21. Corbett & Stuart Store Records. Boxes 67-69. 1921 - 1960s.

Primarily sales slips. Sales slips for 1926 were apparently arranged by name of customer. Arrangement has not been maintained. 1914 inventory for store, and order books, 1914-23, are in Box 77. See also Account Books (19.v136).

Contains survey maps / plats, which are divided into two groups: "Primarily Delaware County" and "Hardenburgh Patent." Includes a copy of an 1812 copy of "Map of the West part of the Great Lot No. 5 Hardenburgh Patent, ... Belonging to the Heirs of James Sesbrosse(?) Esqr., Surveyed and laid into farms Now and formerly, 1809."

Biographical/Historical Note

Sewell Corbett (1785-1852) was a farmer and the owner of a saw mill, a grist mill, a foundry, and a general store in Corbettsville, N.Y. Julius Smith Corbett (1831-1899), only son of Sewell Corbett, ran his father's various businesses until 1881, when he moved to Binghamton. With John Emmons, V. Mandville, and Mr. Nitckee, Julius Corbett established a wood chemical plant in Livingston Manor, N.Y. Julius Corbett later began building a plant in Rockland, N.Y., which his son Merritt John Corbett (b. 1865) completed in 1885 and operated for a short time (1887?). Julius and Merritt Corbett also purchased a plant in Sherman, Pa. (Sherman Manufacturing Company).

In 1887, Merritt Corbett took his brother-in-law, John Leonard Stuart, on as a partner. The firm of Corbett & Stuart began operations at Harvard, N.Y. In 1889, they built another wood chemical plant at East Branch, N.Y. (Morris Brook Works). In 1891, they built a plant at Peaksville, N.Y. (Trout Brook Works). The plant at St. Mary's, Pa. (M.J. Corbett & Co.) was built from 1897 to 1898. In 1911, a plant at Corbett, N.Y. (Corbett & Stuart) was built. In 1912, a plant at Milanville, Pa. (Milanville Chemical Co.) was purchased. Refining plants for the manufacture of acetone, formaldehyde, and pure methyl alcohol were built at St. Mary's and at Wells, Michigan (Delta Chemical Co.) from 1914 to 1915.

Restrictions

Copyright Restrictions

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Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of fair use, that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.; Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of fair use, that user may be liable for copyright infringement.; This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.